I am not big into Desserts, neither the making of, nor the eating! Himself, is though very much into the eating of desserts, which I have to say he does not get very often!

When the kids were small, they would always ask ” what is for dessert?” and the answer, which would infuriate them , was always the same, it was either a “Was “(  Wait and See) or a “UFO” ( You’ll Find Out), however, dessert more often than not, was a yoghurt. Unless it was a cooking class day, when there might even be a choice, so definitely a “WAS” day!

Here at home we rarely have dessert, unless we have been entertaining and then there might be a plethora of desserts for himself to indulge in.

Whilst we were on the high seas for 16 days,  he was in his element, pastries at breakfast, afternoon tea, with crepe and cakes and cookies ( we did skip lunch I might add) and of course dessert at dinner!, So after three dessert-less weeks, this has seen Himself indulging once again.  The offerings were, Creamy Rich Chocolate Satin ( a thick mousse type) Japanese White Chocolate Cheese Cake, Eton Mess and Lemon Tart.

The only thing that was new in my repertoire, was the Lemon Tart. Sure, I’ve made a version of Lemon Tart, a zillion times over the years, but this version was new and so I will share with you. It is quiet Tart ( excuse the pun, so extra sugar might be needed)! Bizarrely, I found two round loose bottom tart pans, ( with no bottoms) and two square loose bottom pans, with bottoms, hence, this is a square lemon Tart!

Either make some pastry, using your tried and trusted recipe, or buy some if that is easier for you.

Then you will need

1. 5 medium eggs beaten. Plus a yolk or white extra.
2. 150 grms castor sugar
3. juice of 2-3 large lemons ( plus one lemon preferable with thin skin for decoration)
4.  the grated zest of one of the lemons ( optional, if you do not have a zester)
5. 150 ml double cream

Roll out the pastry, on a floured surface, to a little larger than your tin. Cover with cling film and leave for about 15 mins for it shrink just a bit. If you over roll your pastry it will become hard, so be carefull ! Heat the oven to 160 ( fan) 180 ( non Fan)Line your tin with the pastry, and then some greaseproof paper. I would recommend leaving the pastry hanging over the sides of your tin, in the first instance, so that if it does shrink, it is no big  deal and can be trimmed subsequently. Leave to stand for another 15 mins if you have the time. Pour into the tin, ( on top of the greaseproof paper,) something to hold the pastry down. This can be rice, lentils,  flour or if you have them some baking beans ( usually made out of ceramic.) If using rice or lentils, you can use them time and time again, just store them , marked baking, so that no-one will try to really cook with them!

Bake the pastry case “Blind” for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, start making the filling. To the beaten eggs, whisk in the sugar, lemon juice and zest and then the cream. Warm it slightly, keep an eye on it as you do not want it to either scramble or curdle.

Remove the pastry from the oven, remove the greaseproof paper and beans, paint the pastry with either a beaten egg yolk or white, it will stop the bottom becoming “Soggy”, stir the cream mixture and pour carefully into the tin and bake for about 20 mins. until the pastry is more or less cookedand the filling firm. Trim the pastry if needed.

Meanwhile thinly slice the lemons, either into segments or into rounds. Put into a bowl and pour over some boiling water, to soften them ready for decorating the tart.

Blot the lemon slices, remove the tart from the oven, decorate with the lemon slices, bake for another 5-10 mins, for the lemons to take on some colour.

Serve warm, dusted with some icing sugar and with a dollop of cream.